Stories about Governance from February, 2010
China: Mobilizing mothers for censorship
On January 19th 2010, the Beijing Association of online media established a group called Mama Jury to censor obscene and pornographic information online. According to report from Southern Weekend, the idea of organizing mothers to “protect” the children from pornography is originated from Western countries. However, the Chinese mother group...
Sri Lanka: Censorship And Pertinent Questions
Sanjana Hattotuwa at ICT for Peacebuilding (ICT4Peace) blog discusses about the presidential order of “the suspension of a plan by Sri Lanka’s telecommunications regulator to censor anti-government websites” and raises some questions.
India: Fighting For The Forest
Indian Tribals Blog reports about a struggle of the tribal people in the reserved forests of Udaipur district in Rajsthan, India who fighting to avoid displacement from their ancestral land.
Bangladesh: Communal Attack On Jumma Villages
Unheard Voices reports of the attack of Bengali settlers on Jumma indigenous villages in Rangamati district of Bangladesh which left 5 indigenous people dead. The blog is following the developments and the subsequent protests.
Latvia: “Cyber-Security ‘Killer Incident'”
Telecoms in Latvia reports that in order to “expose government waste, unjust wage differentials and possible corruption by analyzing data filed by state agencies and public sector,” individuals calling themselves “the Fourth Awakening People's Army” have obtained some “7.4 million records from a database linked to the web-based service for...
Coup in Niger: Bloggers sigh in relief at the ousting of President Tandja
On Thursday, February 18th a coup d'état took place in Niger, in which President Mamadou Tandja was captured after a gun battle in the capital. A few months ago Tandja illegally changed the constitution to allow him a third term in what was generally considered a mass fraud referendum. Bloggers react to these latest developments.
Croatia: A New President, A New Path
On Friday of last week, Ivo Josipović took office as Croatia's third president, replacing outgoing two-term president, Stjepan Mesić, who was the head of Croatia for a decade.
Estonia: Lessons of the Ukrainian Election
Itching for Eestimaa writes that “the underwhelming victory of Viktor Yanukovich over Yulia Tymoshenko last week has caused all sorts of soul searching in Estonia and, in general, the West”: “Indeed, there are lessons to be learned.”
Bulgaria: “The Bulgarian Guantanamo”
Maya Markova of Maya's Corner posts videos and translates parts of the documentary The Bulgarian Guanatanamo, by Bulgarian journalist Ivan Kulekov. (An earlier GV roundup item on this issue is here.)
Belarus: State TV Accused of “Ripping a Whole Sitcom”
Belarus Digest reports that while the Belarusian government explains the recently-introduced internet regulations by the need to fight copyright law violations, the state-run TV is now being accused of “ripping a whole sitcom”: “In the CBS original, shown on E4 in Britain, the main character are called Sheldon, Leonard, Howard,...
Singapore: New voters
Seelan wonders whether Singapore's new citizens will vote for the administration or opposition party.
Belarus, Poland: Situation With the Union of Poles
Updates on the tensions between Belarus and Poland – at Belarus Digest: here, here, and here.
Belarus, Ukraine: Yanukovych from Yanuki
Belarus Digest writes about the “Belarusian roots” of Victor Yanukovych, the winner of Ukraine's presidential election, and about the Belarusian village of Yanuki, the birthplace of Yanukovych's father: “Currently there are only two families live in Yanuki. Both of them are Yanukovichs.”
EU, Greece: Greek PM Parody
Greater Surbiton mocks the the Greek prime minister's comment on the EU-Greek relationship in the time of financial crisis.
The Balkans, Italy: Berlusconi's “Albanian Girls” Comment; Doctored Photo
Balkan Travellers re-posts a Balkan Insight piece about the Italian PM Silvio Berlusconi's comment that “his country would accept only pretty Albanian girls as immigrants.” Belgraded writes about the photoshopped photos of Berlusconi and Slobodan Milosevic: “Fours days after the [doctored] photo was published, Milosevic lost the elections by a...
Poland: “Better Say Nothing”
The Economist's Edward Lucas posts his article about Poland and follows up with “this exasperated response” to counter “the furious reaction to the earlier piece on the Polish blogosphere.”
Iran: Cyber Islamic Militarism on the March
The internet is usually touted as a space for dialogue and peaceful exchange, but in the case of Iran, the political conflict has also morphed into new forms of online "warfare" where the most powerful weapons are those that silence free speech.
Sri Lanka: The Impending General Elections
Serendipity opines on the impending general elections in Sri Lanka.
Macedonia: Official Website of Skopje Old Bazaar
Archaeological Diary informs [MKD] about the opening of the official website [MKD] for governmental Program for Revitalization of the Old Bazaar in Skopje, one of the most significant cultural treasures from the Ottoman period. Archeologist Vasilka Dimitrovska notes that for true revitalization, one has to work on providing content and...
Haiti: Reading the Reports
Repeating Islands republishes segments of a report on HIV infections in Haiti, while Haiti Vox links to a story on “who's getting the first Haiti contracts”, saying: “It's important for us to widely circulate this information, and to HELP Haitian groups who may want to apply…it's also important for Haiti...
Haiti: Moving On
“The men and women of Haiti are strong and ready to show the world that they can rebuild their country”: Wadner Pierre says that Haitians are ready to move on post-earthquake.
